This morning I opened my Bible and went back to the story of the crippled man that was healed by Jesus, through the prayer and command of Peter and John. I say it that way, because it was clear the man was healed in Jesus' name, which means (at least to me) the power to heal came from faith in Jesus. This morning I was continuing to read and saw something interesting concerning the man who had just been healed. I will quote several verses and then comment - Acts 3:1-12,16 NIV:
[1] "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer---at three in the afternoon. [2] Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. [3] When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. [4] Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” [5] So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
[6] Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” [7] Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. [8] He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. [9] When all the people saw him walking and praising God, [10] they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
[11] While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. [12] When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
[16] By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see."
Peter continues on preaching to the crowd (through the end of chapter three) into the early evening. Suffice it to say that things were quite stirred up by this healing and this fiery preaching. Here we cut back to the beginning of Chapter 4.
Acts 4:1-14 NIV
[1] "The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. [2] They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. [3] They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. [4] But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
[5] The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. [6] Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. [7] They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
[8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! [9] If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, [10] then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. [11] Jesus is “ 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' [12] Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
[13] When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. [14] But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say."
As I was reading this wonderful testimony of God's healing and the impact it had on the people who were familiar with the crippled man, I was looking at how the man was affected. It is clear that He is miraculously healed, and even experienced a regenerative miracle, for after 42 years (See Acts 4:22) of being crippled he wouldn't have had the muscles, loose ligaments and tendons, nor nervous system coordination to be able to run, jump or dance about and yet he did all these! It was an absolutely amazing sign, however my focus was on the man.
We see him noted in Acts 3:9 and again in verse 11. In verse nine, he is walking with the Apostles into the Temple and praising God as he does so. In verse eleven he is standing with Peter and John, holding onto them, not for support but because of his new found faith, and overwhelming joy! It was through them that his life was radically changed, and he was essentially their key witness now to their proclamation! We don't hear anything more about the man who was healed until the next day, when Peter and John are on trial, and he is standing right next to them once again - see Acts 4:14.
Now Luke doesn't say exactly how this came to be, but my thought this morning is that He went right along with Peter and John when they were arrested! The other option is that he came back the following morning, looking for Peter and John, and walked right into their trial, but wither way, the man was standing there once again, bearing witness to his life being radically changed!
My thought this morning was that this is just how they enemy tries to steal away our faith and belief! He tries to crush it however he can, whether that is through causing your first night as healed person to be spent in jail, or whether it is to attempt to discredit the one through whom your faith was birthed! He is very afraid of our faith and belief in Jesus! We can see why, noted in Acts 4:4, the number of people who were convinced by this display of the power of Jesus Name, and the proclamation of the Gospel grew to 5000.
We don't know how many days after Acts 2, this was, but it seems to be relatively soon afterwards, for they teachers and temple leaders were not familiar with Peter and John yet. We are told at the end of Acts chapter two that they met together in the temple courts (See Acts 2:46), so apparently this was early enough that they still were not aware of this major shift that was occurring right under their noses. In just a couple of days, the number of believers had grown from 120 who met in the upper room, to 5000. The enemy was very afraid!
The other thought I had was how willing the man was to bear witness to his healing! He wasn't afraid to stand up with Peter and John while they were on trial! He wasn't afraid to proclaim his miraculous healing, his miracle! His new life was so much better than his old life, he was willing to stand on his own legs, something he could never do before, regardless of whatever threat or discouragement was cast his way! He had been changed and he wasn't going back!
Lastly, I was struck by one comment, made about Peter and John, found in Acts 4:14. The rulers and elders of the people, and all the people who put Peter and John on trial "saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men". What a great encouragement for those of us who are not professional ministers (not taking anything away from those who are!) that we can bear witness to Jesus, we can proclaim the Gospel, we can pray for healing and miracles and see them happen!!
My final note is the closing thought expressed by the leaders, after seeing Peter and John stand up to them, it says, "they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Oh, that we would be known for our relationship with Jesus, first and foremost! I think, at times, we can lose sight of the fact that Jesus is our one common focus and the only reason we have faith! Sometimes we can get so caught up by the practice and pattern of life we experience as Christians that we can forget that the most important aspect of any of our lives is our relationship with Jesus! Christianity isn't about being good people, or having a positive impact on society, or being members of a certain congregation or denomination, it is about being in relationship with Jesus! He is the one we follow! He is the one we put our faith in! He is our only way to salvation! As Peter and John exclaimed, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Amen and Amen!
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